National Help

This informational leaflet was formed as part

of a 4th year social care project. The leaflet was
created as an aid to a social media awareness
campaign about ketamine. The reason we focus
on Ketamine in particular is due to the increase
of its use amongst college students.

National Drugs Helpline (Freephone)

1800 459 459
Al-anon:

(01) 8732699

Find a meeting near you..

Childline: ISPCC
1800 66 66 66

NA Ireland: Narcotics Anonymous

Many people dont know what ketamine actually is and how it affects our bodies. By having
all the facts about the drug, we can make a
sensible and informed decision about taking the
drug.
We would strongly encourage people to not take
drugs as they can cause serious harm to individuals. However, we know it is not possible to
prevent everyone taking drugs, so if you do,
please do so safely.

(01) 6728000
[Connaught: (086) 8149004 ]

Local Services: Sligo

Assertive Outreach Programme: Sinead
Northside Community Resource Centre,
Forthill,
Sligo
(087) 7878355

Foroige Youth Drug & Alcohol Education: Colette

Tubbercurry Youth Cafe,
Conlon House,
Humbert Street,
Tubbercurry,
Sligo
(086) 2316303

Alcohol and Substance Misuse Counselling: Anne

Charter House,
Old Market Street,
Sligo
(071) 9149109

Some Sources of Information include:

The HSEThe Health Service Executive
The USIThe Union of Students Ireland
Talk To Frank
Drugs.com

North-West Drugs Task Force: NWRDATF

Sligo Development Centre,
Cleveragh Road,
Sligo
(071) 9151520

Addiction Studies, Social Care Practice, IT Sligo, Ireland.

Niamh Devaney, Ciara Brennan, Corey Whyte & Tara O Hara

There is
Safety
in knowing...
Being aware of what you are taking.
It could save your life.

Effects & Risks

The effects of Ketamine widely depends on the dosage
you take.
After snorting the drug, users will experience some effects as quick as 5-10 minutes after. The effects of Ketamine can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour,
with a normal dosage/

The effects can include:

Ketamine
Its a powerful general anaesthetic used on animals,
particularly horses, to put them under and reduce
pain during surgery.
Ketamine is also viewed as a cheap party drug that
induces dissociative state. Users ingest it through
injection in the muscle or the vein, snorting up the
nose or it an also be taken in tablet form.
The most common way is to snort it up the nose.
Snorting the powdered form of ketamine increases
the effects of the drug significantly.
To increase the effects even more you may inject it in
its liquid form. The injection is almost always in the
muscle tissue. By directly injecting through the vein,
you produce an instant "K-Hole".
It is rarely found in tablet form for recreational purposes.
These dosages are in relation to nasal ingestion:
- Light = 0.15mg
- Common = 0.3mg
- Strong = 0.75mg
- K-Hole = 1mg
- Anesthetic = 1.5mg

Hallucinations/ Delusions

Euphoria

Out of Body Experience (OBE)

Rapid heart beat

Vomiting and nausea

Dizziness/ Delirium

Blurred or double vision

High blood pressure

Vivid dreams/ Nightmares

Excessive salivation

Taking too much Ketamaine can lead to you entering a K hole. A K-hole creates a feeling of disassociation and disconnection from the body and
world. It is named a hole because a user stops taking in information from the world around them and
starts looking inward. This causes wild hallucinations, paranoia, possible panic, and other potential
mental effects. The major danger of a k-hole is
when these effects may not stop. It can be difficult
for the user to come out of the state of disassociation and back into the real world. A user can remain
disconnected from his or her life, the world, and the
body. When this happens, psychosis can develop
afterwards.

Inability to speak/ Inability to move

Involuntary eye movement

Stay Safer.

Impaired judgment, attention and memory

Risks

Avoid mixing with alcohol & other drugs

Stay with people you know to avoid

risky situations

The anaesthetic properties of Ketamine lead to decreases sensations of pain. This can be dangerous as you can
injure yourself without being aware.
Ketamine can cause very serious bladder problems. This
can be very painful and often pee can be blood-stained
and can contain tissue from the wall of the bladder.
Although stopping using ketamine can help, sometimes
the damage can be so serious that the bladder needs to
be removed by surgery.
Because of the bodys loss of feelings, paralysis of the
muscles and makes you physically incapable of moving.
This leaves you in a vulnerable position of hurting yourself or being hurt by others

Stay Hydrated!

Wait 60-90 minutes before taking more

Ensure crystals are ground into a powder

Use your own straw to reduce the

spread of infections

If you have epilepsy, heart problems,

asthma, depression, panic or anxiety
attacks. You should avoid using ketamine